Penguin Thoughts
by S. Snowflake
Summary: Written before the sequel's release. It's basically sixteen drabbles about Mumble and other penguins' lives. Many are inspired by music I've listened to over the years. Mumble and Gloria will get shipped of course, there's a bit of Ramon and an original character paired up, and an original character child of Mumble and Gloria.


_Author's Note/Disclaimer: These are some old drabbles from my oneshot and drabble collection that I decided to revise and re-post like the other stories. They now go in chronological order following the plot of "Happy Feet" and beyond. I can't say that they make anything of a story, but they are kind of fun. I do not own "Happy Feet" or its characters. They're trademark Warner Brothers 2006. Chloe is my OC though._

_*S. Snowflake._

* * *

_**Some Thoughts on Penguins**_

**One Small Penguin**

_Inspired by "The Guardian's Song" _

_from Pokemon_

The sun rose above Emperorland that morning. Little Mumble watched the colors of the sky change as if nature were an artist and the sky and the oceans were her canvas. Such untamed beauty; what a marvel! One small penguin without a heartsong might not have been able to sing too well, but he could appreciate art. One day, one day he might prove himself worthy to be called a penguin by his community.

"One day…" he whispered to himself.

**My Evening Meal**

_Inspired by the song, "Fisherman's Prayer"_

_From Pump Boys and Dinettes._

_The boys can take fishing so seriously_, thought Norma Jean as she watched the male penguins singing about their fish. It was almost ridiculous how much they enjoyed chasing fish through the ocean. She shook her head and patted her young son Mumble's back.

"Mumble, promise me you won't be completely like your dad sometimes."

Mumble scratched his head as his father Memphis sang his fisherman's prayer.

"_Bless, oh Lord, thy fish,_

_My evening meal…"_

**It's Fun!**

Gloria loved to dance, even at a young age. She just didn't know it, not like how Mumble knew that he was a dancer. She was always told that she had the loveliest voice, and that became her focus. She liked to shake and jive while she sang, but it was her voice that mattered, or at least that's what the other penguins all said.

"Ever tried the 'happy feet?'" asked Mumble one day after school at Penguin Elementary.

Gloria looked to her toes, embarrassed. "No, I never have."

Mumble decided to jump and tap his feet, giving a small exclamation. "You've got to, Gloria. You've just gotta! It's fun!"

Gloria giggled at her friend's charm. "Okay, okay, Mister Mumble." She carefully lifted a foot and tapped it on the ice. It made a pleasant sound, so she tried it again. "Ooh, this _is_ fun!" she said, after doing it a few more times.

And she and Mumble tapped away for a while as the world went away around them.

**Shout!**

There were times when Mumble felt like he just wanted to jump out of his happy feet and shout for Gloria to notice him. As his feelings for her had intensified from their childhood friendship, he just couldn't stand her disregarding him. If only she liked dancing a little more, then he'd give her a show like she'd never seen.

He imagined that, impressing her with a dance spectacular the likes of which he'd never created. Maybe, just maybe, if he practiced his secret gift enough, he could one day impress her with his dancing, but it would be a longshot.

She was worth every bit of effort.

"_You know you make me wanna shout!_

_Throw my hands back and shout!_

_Kick my heels up and shout!_

_Come on now, come on now…"_

**Flying Underwater**

_Inspired by the song "Do it Again"_

_By The Beach Boys_

Graduation Day… the day Mumble had waited so long for. He couldn't sing at all (in fact, he wasn't really passing school), but he wanted so badly just to hit the water like all penguins wished to do. Somehow he managed to be the first to dive into the ocean. The feeling of the water rushing through his feathers and across his flippers was as warm as it was pleasant; like air, but smoother somehow. For the first time, he felt like a flying bird. This was what they meant by flying underwater.

**Boogie Wonderland**

"Gloria, no..." Mumble muttered as she walked away.

"Please, Mumble. It won't work," Gloria pleaded before she sang again.

"Wait, wait! Sing to this!" Mumble pleaded to his penguin love and started to dance. It was strange and stupid, he knew it, but oddly enough, Gloria sang to it. Then something strange began to happen, Gloria liked it!

"Ha, ha!" he said as he tapped his feet to the point of exhaustion.

_I've never tapped like this before. What is this feeling? _he wondered. _D-does she feel it too?_

"Man, check out Tall Boy! He dancing better than I ever seen!" Ramone the Adelie Penguin muttered.

"Si. It's like a fire's burning in his soul!" agreed Lombardo.

**How Did I Get Here?**

_Inspired by the song, "Halloween"_

_From "RENT"_

Mumble wondered how exactly he got to be in the Guinforsaken zoo. It was horrible being stuck in this little icebox, and every day it seemed as if his mind felt more like a bowl of jelly. He remembered his family and friends, and his whole life of being an outcast. Now he was incarcerated for trying to be a hero.

He felt the loneliness and heartache set in and wanted to cry.

The poor penguin knew then that he was truly all alone.

**Change Steps**

_Inspired by the song "America"_

_from West Side Story._

The female Adelie Sheila scoffed at Ramone as he did a little dance for she and her friends. He was such a little fool, and yet, something about him was rather cute, she thought. Still, she played hard to get.

"What makes j'ou think you're so hot, hombre?" she said, "Just 'cause you got Tall Boy for an amigo?"

"Na-uh baby, I got personality with a capital Y," Ramone said, smiling.

Her friends giggled. "He thinks he's such hot stuff, eh? Too bad he don't know how to find any good love stones," Anita said.

"I'll show you what I got, girls, I…whoa!" Then Ramone fell down flat, slipping on the ice in a poor change step. Every girl except Sheila laughed at him. The young male stood up and left in a huff, waddling away with his flippers raised in annoyance.

"Man, is he soft in the head!" Anita said, "Eh, Sheila?"

"Si," she agreed, sadly.

**All Good**

_Inspired by the song "All Good"_

_by Zeroleen._

As all of the penguins danced to the music, one larger Emperor stood out, jiggling his chubby belly. This was Seymour, a well-known rapping penguin. He started to speak to the rhythm of the music and raised his flippers over his head.

"Follow me, y'all," he rapped. "Let your soul go free baby. It's all good!"

The other penguins turned to cheer for him, making him proud of his gift. And for once since the fish' return, Seymour felt more appreciated than even Mumble.

**Surrounded**

_Inspired by "The Song that Goes Like This" _

_from Spamalot._

Mumble drew closer to lovely Gloria, looking into her soft brown eyes nestled between her bluish facial feathers. As her loud singing continued, he couldn't help but feel rather annoyed, but he still kept on dancing back.

He never really liked listening to singing all that much. He preferred a nice dance, but his mate was a true singer. She couldn't help but sing out her heart song. Nevertheless, sometimes living with a bunch of singers was tough for Mumble.

He wondered how he survived his parents' singing all the time!

**Fish**

It didn't take very long for the fish to return to the Antarctic waters. With the fish numbers crawling back, the Emperor Penguins could eat their fill again. Fishing was more and more enjoyable when it was less of a struggle. Sometimes, the penguins would go out to fish and do little underwater dances out of glee. Of course, they knew not to take more than they gave too. One fish per penguin became the rule until nesting season came.

Mumble knew that the aliens had listened and helped bring back the fish. He also knew that it would take time for things to return to how they had been, if they would ever completely return to normal at all. No one could just fix the entire ocean in a day, not even the incredible dancing penguin.

Still, it was a step forward. Maybe by the time his own chick hatched the ocean would be sustainable again.

'**Til This Evening is this Morning**

_Inspired by the song "The Last Supper"_

_From Jesus Christ Superstar_

Sometimes, the Emperor Penguin dads would just sing a little tune to help make the winter not so unbearable. "Till the evening is this mornin' life is fine..." they'd sing. Of course, Mumble felt left out with just his tapping feet that he couldn't even use to get through the winter. He shrunk his head in the huddle to watch his egg on his feet.

"Great. I can't do anything to make this better. Not even happy feet can help! I'm s-so f-freezing!" He looked up and screeched, "Great Guin, why have you left me to die here all alone?"

"You're not alone, son," said a voice behind him. Mumble looked back at his father Memphis and listened. "I know it's hard, but it's for the best. You have to focus if you wanna' see your egg hatch. That's what you want isn't it?"

Mumble sighed. "Yes, Pa. Me and Gloria both want that. I-I can't mess up... for her." He remembered his mate Gloria and smiled with determination. "I'll be strong for Gloria!"

**Hatch for Me?**

_Inspired by the song, "Grow for Me"_

_from Little Shop of Horrors_

Mumble pecked at his egg. "You're so irritating, you know that?" he said to the egg, as if the baby could hear or understand him. "Why can't you just come out already?"

"-Yo, Mumble. What's up, footman?" asked the rapper penguin Seymour with his song, Seymour Jr. or "little S." in tow.

"Yeah, footman," said little S.

"Oh, hi guys. Just...waiting," Mumble said, but only thought, _Hatch for me?_

**My New Philosophy**

_Inspired by the song, "My New Philosophy" _

_from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"_

As soon as she began learning bigger words, Chloe Happyfeet liked to sing and test some frozen waters with her parents.

"No!" she would say, frustrated that she couldn't get her way about something.

"Young penguin, don't talk back to me," Gloria would say.

"But Mama, it's my philosophy!"

"Well, why are you telling me?" Mumble asked.

"_'Cause it's my new philosophy_, Pa!" she would sing back. It was all just a game to her.

**Sing and Dance all Night Long**

Mumble and Gloria liked to have fun parties with their friends. They would dance for hours. It was like a new tradition for all the penguin parents: Take the little 'guins to the babysitter, then it was off to dance til' your feet fell off under the southern lights.

_"Don't stop it now,_

_Don't stop it now,_

_Don't stop it!"_ Gloria crooned as her mate Mumble tapped to her side.

Mumble threw his head back and screeched along. She smiled at him, even if he was a horrible singer.

_"Keep it coming, love,_

_Keep it coming love,"_ she continued.

The two music artists would sing and dance as long as they could, sometimes all night long. Life couldn't be any sweeter.

**Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star**

_Inspired by the song, "The Second Star to the Right" _

_From "Peter Pan" _

_Artist: Jesse McCartney_

Chloe Happyfeet liked to look at the Aurora Australis on the lonely Antartic nights when she was with only one parent or the other. The colors of green, purple, and blue glittered brightly as if they were from another world. If she were a flying bird like a turn, she might fly to the distant color planet. Maybe decisions wouldn't be so difficult there.

"_Twinkle, twinkle little star,_

_So I'll know where you are…"_


End file.
